This Week In Doctor Who - July 16, 2003
(TWIDW post #0165, repost #0166)

THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - July 16, 2003
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Vol 6, No 29
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho
thisweekindoctorwho-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

It's been a big week for Doctor Who. First up, the late-breaking story that you probably haven't heard yet. BBV http://www.bbvonline.co.uk/ , makers of direct to video and CD sci-fi stories, has made a deal which will present some of their stories on TV in the USA for the first time ever. The stories may or may not have aired in the UK before. BBV has created the Stranger series (Colin Baker as a man of mystery who explores the Supernatural), the PROBE series (the further adventures of Elizabeth Shaw, formerly of UNIT), the Auton trilogy, and other stories. Here is the official press release from KTEH 54/KCAH 25 San Jose/Watsonville, CA http://www.kteh.org/ , the station which has the deal with BBV:


Here's hoping for the best for KTEH's experiment. It'd be fun if these stories could find their way onto television in the US (and the rest of the world, frankly). This Week In Doctor Who will include the schedule info on BBV broadcasts when and where they occur.

In other news, RICHARD E. GRANT is the NINTH DOCTOR!!!

BBCi http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/ announced that Richard E. Grant would be the new Doctor in an official story coming out for Doctor Who's 40th anniversary just hours after last week's column went out. The Scream Of The Shalka will feature the 9th Doctor years after his regeneration, settled into his new incarnation. This is an official story and a very official BBC accredited Doctor. SFX magazine has a description of the 9th Doctor as "impatient, a bit angry with humans, but caring and passionate, bitingly witty, vulnerable, brittle, and a bit of a snob". His new companion will be called Alison Cheneym (Sophie Okoendo), a companion in the same sense as Grace Holloway in the TV Movie and Spandrell in The Deadly Assassin. In a first for Doctor Who, the story will be fully animated to DVD quality standards, with animation done by the Cosgrove Hall company (Dangermouse, Count Duckula). Paul Cornell wrote the story for BBCi. As of this time, it will air as a webcast on BBCi's Doctor Who website. If the reaction is good, there could be more. Paul Cornell describes the story as a beginning, not an end. Lots of details at the BBC website, Outpost Gallifrey http://www.gallifreyone.com/ , and Richard E. Grant's website http://www.richard-e-grant.com/ . You may remember Mr. Grant's performace as the 10th Doctor (lick the mirror handsome) in the charity special The Curse Of Fatal Death, which is not considered official.

American Who http://www.americanwho.net/ will feature an interview with Paul Cornell in this week's edition answering questions about The Scream Of The Shalka. Direct link at http://www.interstellartransmissions.com/who/71503.mp3 .

UK Gold http://www.ukgold.tv/ has a poll on their website to help determine which stories will air during their 2 day 40th anniversary Who marathon on 22+23 November. If you want to vote, and you have software blocking pop up ads on your computer, you will need to disable it long enough for the poll to appear.

And a happy anniversary to Doctor Who fandom in Australia. Doctor Who premiered in Australia on 16 July 1965.

On Monday July 13, 1998, This Week In Doctor Who published its first edition to the rec.arts.drwho newsgroup on Usenet. I thought that Doctor Who fans might like to know which stations were airing Who stories and what's been broadcast. And I'd been searching for something like it online for 2 years, so I decided to take a stab myself. The inspiration came while watching Maryland Public TV airing An Unearthly Child in episode format, which appropriately enough they are doing again next month. It had two immediate reactions - high praise that someone was trying to gather all this information, and boy had I made a lot of mistakes with that first edition! Within a week the column was being carried on Siobahn Morgan's Nitro-9 website http://nitro9.earth.uni.edu/doctor/homepage.html (perhaps the oldest and most loved Doctor Who site on the web), Outpost Gallifrey http://www.gallifreyone.com/ , and the Alliance Newsletter, which galvanized online fandom in the late 1990s. And it took off from there. The Yahoo Group many of you get This Week from today http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho/ didn't begin till April of 2001, when the column was close to 3 years old. Longtime readers have seen the column improve and grow over time, have seen the moods shift from optimistic to neutral to pessimistic and back again over the years. Hopefully you had a good time.

As Doctor Who's 40th anniversary approaches, This Week In Doctor Who has no plans to go away. I think the 40th anniversary will be bigger than the 35th anniversary of the series. Let's find out.

And lest I forget the other sites who graciously host this column: http://www.wolvesoffenric.freeserve.co.uk/ - UK based site http://www.varos.net/drwho/ - your guide to Australian fandom, and the best resource when Doctor Who returns to Australian TV (I'm certain it will - eventually)

While I try to keep the column up to date, I do sometimes miss late changes to schedules. If you see TWIDW's information getting out of synch with what your local station is actually airing, let me know ASAP.

Additions and corrections are welcome at thisweekindoctorwho-owner@yahoogroups.com , bfelliott@... , bfelliott3 on AOL IM, or thebfe on Yahoo Messenger. And now, the listings:

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RADIO/INTERNET:

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BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/
Shada - new 6 episode version of Douglas Adams' TV story. Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. The 3rd story produced for BBCi.
Real Time - the 6th Doctor battles the Cybermen in this illustrated audio story first produced in 2002. The 2nd story produced for BBCi.
And Coming In November ...
The Scream Of The Shalka - Richard E. Grant as the 9th Doctor in a fully-animated story for the 40th Anniversary. The 4th story produced for BBCi, and the first one to have full animation instead of illustrations.

American Who http://www.americanwho.net/
http://www.interstellartransmissions.com/who/71503.mp3
This Week - Paul Cornell gives Joey Reynolds 20 minutes and discusses some details of the upcoming 9th Doctor story on BBCi this November. Also, Charles Martin tries to clarify and calm the fears involved when new chapters in one's favorite saga comes along. Remember when we heard about new Star Wars films and new Star Trek shows? The future of Doctor Who on the next American Who.
http://www.interstellartransmissions.com/who/7403.mp3 - Arnold T. Blumberg
An interview with Arnold T. Blumberg, co-author of Howe's Transcendental Toybox, a guide to Doctor Who merchandise over the decades.

Business Talk Radio Network http://www.businesstalkradio.net/
Late Sun/Early Mon 2-6AM EDT (11PM-3AM PDT, 7-11AM BST, 4-8PM AEST ) Sci-Fi Overdrive
http://www.scifioverdrive.com/ station list on the scifioverdrive website
http://www.businesstalkradio.net/weekday_host/Archives/sfo.shtml - archives in MP3 format
Live audio link at Business Talk website - requires Windows Media Player.
National sci-fi radio talk show, sometimes with Doctor Who content. Easiest to hear in timezones outside the USA. Hour 1 - Sci-Fi News etc. Hour 2 - Scott Grissom. 3 - More Scott Grissom. Hour 4 - Ray Bradbury (encore interview).

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TV:

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UK:

UK Gold http://www.ukgold.tv/ http://www.onthebox.com/partner/otb
Sat 7:15-9AM BST Underworld movie
The quest for a race bank to let a sychophantic race continue to exist. Thrill as the bad guys fight heroically to keep these imbeciles from having the chance to breed. Boo as the 4th Doctor finds a brilliant way to save the day. Memo to the Time Lords - try to make all the peoples' of the universe like you, and they'll just walk all over you.
Sat 11PM-1:55AM, Sun 6:25-9AM BST The Invasion of Time movie
The 4th Doctor becomes President of Gallifrey, setting off a chain of mystery and mayhem that could tear the oldest civilization apart.

UK Gold + 1
Late Sat Mid-2:55AM BST The Invasion of Time movie

EUROPE:

TELE 5 Poland http://www.tele5.pl/
Weekdays 7PM CET
The 12th series (Robot through Revenge of the Cybermen) is currently airing dubbed in Polish, apparently in order. Their TV listings are still unusable for people who don't read Polish, and I doubt they're much better for people who do speak Polish.

CANADA/USA:

BBC Kids http://www.bbckids.ca
Weeknights 2 episodes Midnight + 4AM EDT (9PM + 1AM PDT)
Saturday/Sunday complete stories Midnight + 3:30AM EDT (9PM + 12:30AM PDT)
Wed Underworld pts 1+2 of 4
Thu Underworld pts 3+4 of 4
See UK Gold for details.
Fri The Invasion of Time pts 1+2 of 6
See UK Gold for details.
Sat The Horns of Nimon all 4 pts
An artificial black hole nearly destroys the TARDIS, bringing the 4th Doctor, Romana, and K9 into the story of a dying civilization that is sacrificing children for the promise of power.
Sun The Leisure Hive all 4 pts
K9's old voice (John Leeson) returns for the new season, as the 4th Doctor and Romana continue their quest for a relaxing vacation. On the way, they get involved in murder, junk science, and dark secrets on the planet Argolis, where the sterile Argolins run a hive of leisure to teach peace to civilizations who still have a chance to live.
Mon The Invasion of Time pts 3+4 of 6
Tue The Invasion of Time pts 5+6 of 6
See UK Gold for details.

Channel numbers in brackets ( ) indicate a digital station that is not on the air. All stations currently airing Doctor Who that do not have digital transmitters on the air have received wavers from the FCC giving them till November 1, 2003 to go on the air. Low power stations do not currently have digital assignments.

NHPTV New Hampshire http://www.nhptv.org
analog 11,49,52
digital 57-2,48-2,49-2 - simulcast currently ends before Doctor Who starts
Boston DirecTV Local 11,955
Boston Dish Local 11,8781
Sat 11PM EDT Robot pt 1 of 4
The 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) barely has time to recover from his regeneration before U*N*I*T needs him to investigate a series of deaths, destruction, and theft of vital military secrets.

WCNY/W59AU Syracuse/Utica, NY http://www.wcny.org
analog 24,59
digital 25-1
Sun 5:30PM EDT The Ark In Space pt 4 of 4
The Wirrn decide to wipe out the waking humans so that they can feast on the rest of humanity, who still sleep away.

WSKG Binghamton, NY http://www.wskg.com
analog 46
digital (42) - coming September 2003
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Seeds of Doom pt 6 of 6
The Krynoid prepares to give birth and launch kids that will ravage the Earth.

WYBE Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org
analog 35
digital 34-1
Philadelphia DirecTV Local 35,909
Philadelphia Dish Local 35,8162
Sat 11PM EDT Castrovalva pts 1+2 of 4
Peter Davison begins his tenure as the 5th Doctor with a regeneration crisis - it didn't take. The TARDIS crew tries to help the Doctor recover his equillibrium as the Master continues his efforts to destroy the Doctor once and for all.

MPT Maryland http://www.mpt.org
analog 22,67,28,31,62,36
digital 42,(29),(62),(44),(28),(56) - simulcast of analog begins in 2003?
DC/Hagerstown & Baltimore DirecTV Local 22,980
Late Sat Mid EDT {s{Mindwarp=The Trial Of A Time Lord} movie, pt 2 of 4 (Mindwarp)
The 6th Doctor is appalled as the trial footage shows him behaving increasingly out of control, with Peri's life possibly in danger. Did the Doctor save the universe from the scientific discovery of the Mentors? If he didn't, who did? Nabil Shaban returns as Sil. Coming August 9th - the William Hartnell stories in episode format. see note)

WCET Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org
analog 48
digital 34-2
Cincinnati DirecTV Local 48,909
Cincinnati Dish Local 48,8356
Sat 11PM EDT Timelash 4 pt version, pts 1+2
In a sequel to a story never made, the 6th Doctor and Peri find themselves as pawns in a game run by the oppressive dictator of a world the Doctor has helped before. Can the Doctor defeat - the Borad?

WILL Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu
analog 12
digital (9)
Sat 11:40PM CDT Nightmare of Eden pt 3 of 4
Romana learns the truth about Eden, while the Mandrills get more and more aggressive, and the Vraxoin drug incapacitates more people.

IPTV Iowa http://www.sffn.com http://www.iptv.org
analog 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36,36
digital 50,(45),(25),(18),(28),(33),(35),(35),(34) - simulcast of analog
begins in 2003?
Des Moines DirecTV Local 11,474
Des Moines Dish Local 11,9116
Cedar Rapids Dish Local 12,9161
Omaha, NE Dish Local 32,9146
Sat 11:35PM CDT The Hand Of Fear pts 1+2 of 4
The 4th Doctor suspects Sarah's mind has been taken over by a fossilized hand discovered in a gravel quarry that looked suspiciously like many alien planets he had visited. The Doctor's suspicions grow when she single handedly invades and takes over a nuclear power plant. She's learned some skills from the Doctor but that's a trifle ridiculous.

KERA/K44FI Dallas/Wichita Falls, TX http://www.kera.org
analog 13,44
digital 14-1
Dallas DirecTV Local 13,889
Dallas Dish Local 13,8406
Late Fri 12:30AM CDT Warriors of the Deep movie
The 5th Doctor gets another chance to bring peace between the species of Earth when the Silurians and the Sea Devils resurface in the year 2084. Alas, the Silurians and Sea Devils have different ideas.
» the following week reported The Five Doctors Special Edition was shown instead!

KBDI/K32EO Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org
analog 12,32
digital (38)
Denver DirecTV Local 12,910
Denver Dish Local 12,8211
No episodes this week. Doctor Who returns late Friday July 25.

KUED/KUES-DT Salt Lake City/Richfield, UT http://www.kued.org
analog 7 (and 80+ translators all over Utah)
digital 42-1,19-1
Salt Lake City DirecTV Local 7,982
Salt Lake City Dish Local 7,8536
Sat 11:30PM MDT Logopolis pt 2 of 4
The Master's machinations put the TARDIS at risk and introduces the TARDIS crew to Tegan Jovanka.

KBTC/KCKA/K65BU Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA http://www.kbtc.org
analog 28,15,65
digital 27-1,(19)
Seattle DirecTV Local 12,910
Seattle Dish Local 28,8620
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PDT An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly Child ep 1 of 4
Sat 7:30PM, Late Sat 1AM PDT An Unearthly Child: The Cave of Skulls ep 2 of 4
Sat 8PM PDT An Unearthly Child: The Forest of Fear ep 3 of 4
Sat 8:30PM PDT An Unearthly Child: The Firemaker ep 4 of 4
The very first Doctor Who story, also known as "The Tribe Of Gum" or "100000 B.C.". Two schoolteachers investigate the home life of a very strange pupil of theirs, bumbling into a realm beyond their understanding, a machine that can travel in time and space. Can they survive the unknown?

KTEH/KCAH San Jose/Watsonville, CA http://www.kteh.org
analog 54,25
digital (50),(58)
San Francisco DirecTV Local 54,903
Monterey Dish Local 25,9190
Coming August 17th at 8PM PDT ...
BBV Comes to US TV with the first known American TV broadcasts
The Airzone Solution - starring Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, and Peter Davison
Auton - starring, well, it's kinda obvious

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Thanks for reading for the first 5 years. Welcome to the next 5 years. Until next week, take care.

Doctor Who is a BBC Trademark. Copyright 2003.